Michael Coren

Michael Coren (born January 15, 1959 in Essex, England) is a Canadian columnist, author, public speaker, radio host and television talk show host. He is the host of the television series The Michael Coren Show. He has also been a long-time radio personality, particularly on CFRB radio.

Career in Canadian media

Coren moved from the UK to Canada in 1987. He became a permanent resident through marriage. There is no information on when, or if, he became a citizen. For several years, he was a columnist for Frank and then The Globe and Mail, before he began syndicated columns for the Financial Post and Sun Media in 1995. Following his departure from Frank, he became a favourite target of that publication, culminating in a spoof ad contest to "deflower" Michael Coren (a nod to Frank's notorious "Deflower Caroline Mulroney" contest, and a satirical jab at Coren's conservative leanings.) Coren had also been a favorite target of Frank back in the days before he began writing for them.

He is also a broadcaster, co-hosting a political debate segment with Irshad Manji on TVOntario's Studio 2. In 1995, he began an evening talk show on CFRB. In 1999, Coren briefly moved to Talk 640 for a short stint as its morning man. He returned to CFRB, where he broadcasted from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. weekday nights, and regularly filled in for other hosts until November 2005. Coren was dismissed by CFRB as a result of complaints arising from comments ridiculing the weight of an apparent guest. In fact, the guest was an actor and the segment was scripted. According to CFRB's Operations Manager, Steve Kowch, "Pat Holiday, our general manager and myself went through the tape of Monday night's show and were shocked....it was totally out of bounds." Coren argues that it was a satire comparing in his mind public attitude to third world starvation with North America's obsession with slimming and self-indulgence.

Despite this acrimonious termination, Coren made regular talk show appearances on CFRB in July 2006, at the start of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, as he happened to be in Israel at the time. After receiving 60% approval from CFRB listeners in an August 2006 poll, Coren returned to the CFRB airwaves in September 2006 with a Sunday Evening show. As of the 22nd of April 2007, the show expanded from its usual 1 hour 7-8pm to 7-9 pm. Coren celebrated by giving away double the prizes usually given out.

On television, Coren hosts The Michael Coren Show weeknights on Crossroads Television Services, and is published every Saturday in the Sun newspaper chain. He is also a columnist for the Western Standard, Catholic Insight and The Women's Post and writes regularly for the National Post, Reader's Digest and several other publications. He is also a public speaker, particularly at religious gatherings.

Political controversies

He also drew some criticism from Pagan groups for an August 2, 2003 article in which he expressed displeasure with the decision to allow tax-funded Wiccan chaplains to work in Canadian prisons.

He is staunchly pro-life and has a reputation as a mainstream social conservative, although this is an oxymoron. Unlike many of his conservative counterparts, he was opposed the US Invasion of Iraq, as was the Catholic Church of course, and it seems unlikely that this was a coincidence. Michael Coren appears to follow the Catholic Church's position on most issues. He noted that homosexual abuse constituted most of the cases in the abuse scandal against the Catholic Church, and that such sexual encounters were in fact forbidden by the Church. As such he supported the Catholic Church's ban on gay priests, despite the fact that girls have also been abused by priests, and boys have been abused by nuns, and the church is responsible for the cover up. It should be noted that most men who abuse young boys are heterosexual in their adult relationships, and that statistics show that gay men are less likely to molest children than heterosexuals. The church's ban on gay priests is an attempt to scapegoat gays for a systemic problem in the church.

Coren has written often in his Sun column and has said on his show that he receives a great deal of hate mail from feminists, homosexuals and anti-Semites, and openly challenged the tolerance and open-mindedness that these groups espouse, although it should be noted that anti-Semites are not usually known for espousing tolerance. Michael Coren believes in tolerance for himself and his point of view, and tolerance for his intolerance of others and their points of view. He accuses them of hypocrisy for being intolerant towards those who are intolerant toward them, and for being unable to accept his "traditional values", which evidently includes intolerance toward gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. Michael Coren conducted a live "Town Hall" style debate with CFRB's Mark Elliot in 2006 and demonstrated his willingness to answer questions from his gay and lesbian audience members, without criticising them as individuals, although he routinely insults and criticises them as a group. Toronto's gay and lesbian community, or rather tiny minority from that community, attempted to derail this debate by shouting down Coren's responses. It is doubtful that most of Toronto's gay and lesbian community were even aware of the event. Like Torontonians in general many gays and lesbians have never heard of Michael Coren. Michael Coren has equated homosexuality with bestiality and necrophilia.

Spirituality

His articles and speeches often include stories of his own personal spiritual journey. Coren's father was Jewish as was his maternal grandfather.

He converted to Evangelical Christianity after a conversion experience as an adult, greatly influenced by Canadian televangelist Terry Winter.

In early 2004, he embraced Catholicism. He cites St. Thomas More, C.S. Lewis, Ronald Knox and his God-father Lord Longford as spiritual influences, but remains connected to the ecumenical scene in Canada and beyond.

Published Books

Coren is the author of eleven books including works of social criticism and biographies of famous writers. His biographies include the lives of G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, H.G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, and C.S. Lewis. His books have been translated into fourteen languages. He is currently writing a book entitled Socon, A Handbook for Moral Conservatives.

External links

• Official site
• Michael Coren on CFRB